


and he held him

by revolutionarygold



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Flash Fiction, Gen, Remus Lupin Is So Important, Through the Veil, set during OotP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-13 22:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11194611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revolutionarygold/pseuds/revolutionarygold
Summary: "Remus, do you mind?" | memory is a funny thing. flash fiction, movie-inspired.





	and he held him

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in the middle of a Harry Potter movie marathon and this happened right as I finished Order of the Pheonix. Remus Lupin is so important.

When Harry was born, he was hardly held for more than fifteen minutes at a time by any one person.  
“Sirius! Sirius, watch this-”  
“James Potter, you better not ride that broomstick holding my son-”  
“I _wasn’t_ , Lily, here-” 

Sirius took the three month old Harry from his father, and almost immediately passed him to Lily. James took to the sky, and all gathered started to watch whatever new trick he’d figured out-

“Blazes- JAMES!”  
“Remus, do you mind- Sirius is rubbish with household spells-” 

And just like that, Remus was passed the young Potter while Sirius and Lily ran after James, who was surely nursing a broken arm or worse. He bounced a content Harry, talking in a quiet undertone, trying to occupy the baby from the commotion his father had caused.  
“Promise me you’ll be more responsible on a broom, Harry, the world can’t handle two of you,” Remus attempted to sound solemn with the baby, but his smile broke through the recent scars on his face, and Harry smiled a toothless, probably gas-motivated, response.

* * *

Memory was an funny thing. When Lupin caught Harry, screaming, screaming for Sirius, screaming for his father, the old professor knew that he was keeping Harry from throwing himself through the veil after all of the people he had lost.  
When the tears blurred his vision, and his low voice, trying to soothe his friends’ son, broke, Remus remembered Harry as a smiling baby, remembered his father’s antics, remembered Lily and Sirius who always seemed to be racing after James, trying to keep up or slow him down, depending on the occasion.

They were all gone. All Harry had left was him, an old, beaten and so desperately lonely werewolf. Remus was it, the last line of defense.

“ _Remus, do you mind?_ ” 

And he held him.


End file.
